The Queen's Cat-Astrophy
by ncisduckie
Summary: Chloé-as-Queen-Bee’s always known she was meant to be BFFs with Ladybug and Chat Noir. LB is nice enough… Chat Noir… however… is less inviting.


**The Queen's Cat-Astrophy**

**A/N: It's time to share the fic I wrote for Team-Miraculous-Zine before canon tries to make this impossible! ;~; This zine was so fun to work with. Everybody was so happy to work and raise money for a deserving charity. And the pieces were all so amazing!!! Check out their Tumblr as our mods start to share the other completed pieces (though I suppose most of them will go up when we ship--including the cutest art piece that goes with this fic!)!**

**Thanks to the mods for accepting me into such an exciting project!**

**Note: I'm uploading from my phone (10/12/19) and noticed my italics formatting is missing. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll fix that! **

* * *

"Ah, Chat Noir! What a surprise!" Chloé Bourgeois gushed as the leather-clad superhero appeared in her super-secret hero hideout. She'd been waiting since the news broke about the Akuma. "Is it possible you need help from moi?" She batted her eyelashes.

He waved her greeting away and unceremoniously held out the Bee Miraculous. He wished his Lady had picked a different ally for the day. Working with Chloé was nothing short of a nightmare. "We require the help of Queen Bee today. You know the drill."

The hero's cold tone made her freeze. She hesitated before accepting the box. She brought it close to her chest and pouted. "It wouldn't kill you to be nice."

Chat turned up his nose. "It might."

"I—"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!Here she was trying to be friendly, or whatever, and he blew her off! Chloé huffed, forcing herself to focus on Pollen as he manifested from the hair clip. "Buzz on!" She murmured, unable to gather the excitement for being a hero for the day. Golden warmth enveloped her body, but it felt lackluster compared to other times.

Neither spoke another word. Queen Bee followed Chat into Paris, gnawing her lip. She just couldn't figure out how to get through to him. They'd be great friends if he'd give her the chance. She knew that much.

* * *

Another day, another Akuma, same deal. At least Ladybug attempted to be cordial when she visited. No matter how much she tried, Chat wouldn't even smile at her, much less talk with her. "We could talk about Ladybug," she tried when he accompanied her back to Le Grand Paris after their battle.

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't gossip about my Lady."

"I didn't mean—" Chloé gasped. Sure, she loved gossip above everything else. But badmouthing Ladybug? She learned her lesson after she Hawkmoth Akumatized her into Antibug. That was all water under the bridge. "I'm just trying to benice. Jeez."

"I don't need you to be nice, Chloé." Chat held out his hand. "I do need your Miraculous back, though."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the drill." She pulled the clip from her hair and handed it back with trembling hands. Chat said nothing in return. Not even a 'thanks.' He saluted with two fingers and pounced to the nearest building. Chloé watched, narrowing her eyes as he left.

Friendship shouldn't be so hard. So, why was it?

* * *

"Here."

Chat jumped as Chloé forced something into his hands. As a result, he'd nearly dropped her Miraculous. They were already being forced to patrol together while Ladybug was unavailable for "personal reasons." When he suggested partnering with Rena Rouge or Carapace, she dodged the situation. Apparently, they were also "busy." It ticked him off, to be honest.I wonder iftheyknew her identity. Being stuck with Chloé was icing on the cake. Surely if he didn't have to patrol, he could have made it to the movies with his friends.

He looked down to the paper she'd given him. It was a photograph of Ladybug. Not any of the photos that had been on the news or The Ladyblog. He'd seen all of those. This was different. Chat looked back up. "Where d'you get this?" The words felt thick on his tongue. He asked the wrong question. The appropriate one should have been: Why are you giving me this?

Her cheeks flushed as her confidence faltered. This seemed like a much better idea an hour ago. Now she felt stupid. And Chloé Bourgeois did not do 'stupid.' "You're in love with Ladybug, right? I figured you hate me because I do, too." She spoke to the ground. "Consider this a peace offering from my personal collection. I'd really like us to be friends."

"Take it back," he managed a moment too late for it to be a natural reaction.

Chloé flinched.This wasn't how this should have played out. "But—"

"Back," he repeated firmly. "You can't buy my friendship."

Can't buy friendship? Explain Sabrina, then! She turned her nose up.Stupid cat."Keep it. It's not even one of my favorites, anyway."

Chat hesitated, running a gloved finger over the curve of photo-Ladybug's cheek.She had more?That was the definition of 'collection,' no? He shook the thought from his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that. Instead, he pocketed the photo and once again held out her Miraculous. "Chloé Bourgeois, this is the Bee—"

* * *

She never tired of it, watching Ladybug purifying the day's Akuma. Yes, she helped a little today, but like everybody else, Queen Bee's eyes remained glued to the lady in red. "She's so cool."

"Cool? Try amazing. Wonderful. Awesome."

Chat replied solely on reflex. Hear a compliment for his Lady? It was necessary to increase the sentiment. Chloé was floored; he never responded to her. Ever.This was her chance! "Totally agree." She smiled. "There's not a good enough word to describe her."

He realized who he was talking to. What inspiredthat? Right. His big mouth. Arching a brow, he turned away. "You can claim to be Ladybug's number one fan, but your praise means nothing if you're nasty to everyone else."

"I—"

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to bounce."

Chloé didn't bother with a farewell. Instead, she watched with her arms crossed tight around her waist.Why was this so hard?

"Cat got your tongue?" Ladybug jumped to meet Queen Bee on the rooftop. Chat should have been there, though she supposed his transformation had less time left than she expected. Chloé's look was troubling. Marinette had seen her mad, haughty, frustrated, and everything in between. This was something she couldn't identify.

Cooling her expression, Chloé offered Ladybug a forced grin. "You could say something like that…."

"See? Look at that right there!" Chat gasped, pointing to Ladybug as she performed half-a-dozen acrobatic moves before landing her attack. Despite all their best efforts, he and Queen Bee were sidelined on a nearby rooftop when their plan failed. "How can someone not be in love with that girl?"

Chloé hesitated. It wasn't like Chat to open a dialogue with her. She couldn't screw this up. She leaned forward, peering over his shoulder to peek on the action. "Right? Especially when she uses her Yo-Yo to—" She froze as Ladybug incapacitated the Akuma with her Yo-Yo. "Yeah, exactly like that."

"Or like…."

"When she…."

"_Doesthat_." They spoke in unison as Ladybug released the purified Akuma. Neither spoke and stared at each other as it registered that, yes, they really could get along. They burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Chat relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the mirth of the scenario. Maybe he didn't need to be so hard on Chloé. At first, he worried being nice like when he was Adrien would inspire suspicion (especially considering how much of a nuisance she was at first). Now, even Ladybug warmed up to their Queen Bee. So, perhaps….

"I didn't know you two were friends." Ladybug watched the laughing duo curiously as she swung herself up to their rooftop. Chat had been less than welcoming these past few weeks, especially compared to his interactions with Rena Rouge and Carapace. She figured Chloé was being Chloé and said something to upset him. From the look of it, whatever it was, Chat was over it. Finally.

"She's… she's cool," he relented. Chat managed a sheepish grin. It wasn't in his nature to be rude; it was actually quite tiring to keep up this facade. "We have… a lot in common." He didn't dare share what their common interests were, it would probably annoy his Lady.

"Really?" Ladybug blinked, looking between the two heroes. But the shrill beeps of her earrings kept her from thinking too hard. "You'll have to tell me about it later, Chaton." She saluted them and winked as she launched herself up. "Bug out!"

Chat and Queen Bee stared as Ladybug disappeared into the Paris skyline. Almost a minute passed before Chat tapped Queen Bee's shoulder, his grin still in place. "Ready to scat?"

"Totally!" She leaped after him as he led her back to Le Grand Paris.He said I'm cool!Chloé squealed to herself. That totally meant they were friends now! Or… almost friends. And for the first time in a very long time, Chloé Bourgeois let herself smile like nobody was watching. She was rocking this 'friend' thing.

* * *

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